Knight to step down after leading Hawks out of playoff drought
Associated Press

Updated: May 7, 2008, 11:50 AM ET

ATLANTA -- Billy Knight will resign as general manager of the Atlanta Hawks in July, despite leading the team to its first playoff appearance in nine years.

Knight said Wednesday it was time to "take a break" following a season when his authority appeared to be weakened after unsuccessfully lobbying owners to fire coach Mike Woodson.

Knight will step down July 1.

The Hawks, absent from the playoffs since 1999, lost in the first round to the heavily favored Boston Celtics in seven games. In six years, Knight played the lead role in rebuilding the Hawks and ending the NBA's longest playoff drought.

One of the team's owners, Michael Gearon Jr., said Knight's resignation did not affect Woodson's status.

"You cannot tie the two together," Gearon told The Associated Press. "Frankly, this was not a decision by us, it was a decision by Billy."

Gearon said he had no list of candidates to replace Knight "because this was unexpected."

Knight, 55, rebuilt the roster with younger players. The Hawks were 37-45 in the regular season in earning the No. 8 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

"I am tremendously pleased with what we were able to accomplish this season in reaching the postseason, as the Hawks' return to the playoffs energized the city and our franchise," Knight said in a statement Wednesday. "My passion for the franchise has never wavered."

Knight's best draft pick, rookie of the year runner-up Al Horford, provided much-needed inside toughness as a starting center. But he'll also will be remembered for drafting Marvin Williams instead of Chris Paul, the point guard the team lacked, with the No. 2 overall pick in 2005.

Williams was a steady starter this season but Paul emerged as an All-Star and MVP runner-up for New Orleans.

Another low point for Knight was selecting forward Shelden Williams with the fifth pick in the 2006 draft.

Knight finally acquired a point guard this season, trading Shelden Williams to the Sacramento Kings as part of a package of players for Mike Bibby, who provided leadership for younger players Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams.

Knight went to ownership to discuss a coaching change after acquiring Bibby. Gearon and the ownership group stuck with Woodson.

Woodson said he learned of Knight's resignation "when I walked in my office" on Wednesday morning.

"That's all I know right now," Woodson said. "I'm trying to get some details on what's going on and what happened. They just told me and I'm trying to reach ownership group to see what's going on."

Knight said Woodson and the coaching staff "are most deserving of the praise and accolades they earned during a tough, seven-game series against the Eastern Conference's top team entering the playoffs, and I wish them and the Hawks organization the very best in the future."

Knight was the general manager of the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies before he was hired as Hawks' director of basketball operations prior to the 2002-03 season. Knight was promoted to general manager after Pete Babcock was fired in 2003.

I know that Knight and Joe D are tight, so let's be glad that Scott Perry is back in the fold or Joe might have been tempted to hook Knight up here.

Nuggets’ Anthony gets speeding ticket

31 minutes ago

DENVER (AP)—Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony has been ticketed for speeding, three weeks after he was cited on a charge of driving under the influence.

Police say Anthony was pulled over Saturday for driving 60 mph in a 45-mph zone.

The 23-year-old was arrested on a DUI charge in Denver on April 14. He apologized the next day.

He is scheduled to be in court June 5 on the DUI charge.

Police spokesman Sonny Jackson says Anthony does not have to appear in court on the speeding ticket if he mails in the $130 fine.


He flew right by me on the highway the other day.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/rockets/2008-05-07-mcgrady-surgery_N.htm?csp=34


T-Mac undergoes arthroscopic surgery on entire body

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady had full-body arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday.

Dr. Tom Clanton, the team physician, told the Houston Chronicle that no structural damage was found in the ligaments or cartilage of McGrady's knees, shoulders, or brain. Loose particles were removed from both the brain and the sleepy eye.

The newspaper said Dr. Hussein Elkhousy repaired a slight labial tear on McGrady's "shoulder".

Team spokesman Nelson Luis confirmed the surgeries to The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

During the Rockets-Jazz series they showed a McGrady/Boozer split-screen playoff commercial. How funny would it have been if they chose Dikembe Mutombo and Andrei Kirilenko? That's the funniest possible combo, right? I bet you can't top Kirilenko and Dikembe.
-- Scott, Austin, Texas

SG: What about a split-screen with George Karl and Flip Saunders in which Flip is staring confusedly into the camera, jaw twitching, and Karl doesn't move or blink for 30 solid seconds. Those two images make me think, It's playoff time!

He flew right by me on the highway the other day.

LOL, last year he got one for going 75 in a 35 or something like that. What a tool. Learn to play defense and hire a driver.

He flew right by me on the highway the other day.

I'm glad you're embracing this better than Zekyl does.

I'm starting to break down. I've thought of jokes for the last few comments but held back posting them.

Nets' Jefferson charged with assaulting man in January
Associated Press
Updated: May 7, 2008, 3:51 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS -- New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson was arrested Wednesday on charges of assault for grabbing another man by the throat in a Minneapolis club earlier this year.

Jefferson was in town with team on Jan. 27 when, according to a charge filed, he went to a club in the Graves Hotel where the victim was having a private birthday party in a roped-off section.

The documents say Jefferson entered the area and got angry when he was asked to leave. He is accused of grabbing the victim, shoving him to a bench and choking him with both hands.

Nets spokesman Gary Sussman had no comment. Jefferson's agent did not immediately return a phone message.

Jefferson's first court hearing is set for June 18.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jimmy, happy birthday to you.

Thanks everyone, this is great!

Hey, who is that guy? Why are his ears so fucking tiny? Hey pal, this is a private party, get your small ass ears outta her... CHOKESLAM.

Any word as to whether RJ had a whip and handcuffs out while he choaked the man?

I know that Knight and Joe D are tight, so let's be glad that Scott Perry is back in the fold or Joe might have been tempted to hook Knight up here.

There are reports that Atlanta might consider Scott Perry as their new GM.

Calderon Desires Starting Job
Toronto Star

Raptors restricted free agent Jose Calderon has posted on his website that he wants to be an NBA starter, which is the same declaration made recently by fellow Raptor point guard T.J. Ford, the Toronto Star is reporting.

"I want to be a starter and be in a team that aspires to everything," he wrote. "I will not be on a team in which I cannot be an important contributor."

I think he was a fairly important contributor off the bench for Toronto last year. You don't have to be a starter to be important.

In other words "I don't care about championships, I just want to get paid starting money."

In other words "I don't care about championships, I just want to get paid starting money."

Well, Toronto isn't going to win one anyway when they are counting on wussfino. If you can't win, might as well get more PT (and money) somewhere else.

Nets promote Vandeweghe to GM
(AP)
Kiki Vandeweghe became the New Jersey Nets' general manager Thursday, less than six months after being hired as a special assistant to team president Rod Thorn. Vandeweghe replaces Ed Stefanski, who left in midseason to become the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. "We are very pleased that Kiki will continue his relationship with the Nets' organization," Thorn said.

God, Kiki will have the chance to poison two franchises now. Thorn might as well have hired Layden...

Prick Carlisle got a 4 year deal in Dallas.

"Shoulda drafted Carmelo"


Nuggets have to change

By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 05/09/2008 12:29:57 AM MDT

The math does not compute for the Nuggets.

Somebody has to go.

Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby are the team's big three. But they proved to be a big zero in the NBA playoffs.

Convinced they must make a significant change to compete for a championship, it's no secret the Nuggets will actively pursue trade options. What's more significant, according to a source familiar with the team, is nobody on the Denver roster has been deemed absolutely untouchable.

The Nuggets want to make a deal.

The challenge will be to get the Nuggets front-office team of basketball operations vice president Mark Warkentien, player personnel veep Rex Chapman and executive adviser Bret Bearup, who have sometimes worked at cross purposes since the blockbuster acquisition of Iverson, on the same page in any trade proposal.

It will cost franchise owner Stan Kroenke in excess of $44 million plus luxury taxes to keep Anthony, Iverson and Camby on the team payroll next season. That's simply not a smart investment in three star players who recently won 50 regular-season games, then went down without much of a fight against the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.

Somebody has to go.

Despite his impressive defensive statistics, Camby's value as trade bait has been hotly debated by Denver management for the past 12 months. While the Nuggets tried to pry one of the young stars from the Atlanta Hawks in return for Camby last spring, a 34-year-old center now would likely have more appeal to a contender looking for the final piece to its championship puzzle.

As the Nuggets bet Iverson will not choose to opt out of a contract scheduled to pay him a salary in excess of $20 million next season, the team remains uncertain of what to do with the 32-year-old guard down the road, especially when Denver considers A.I. could be attractive to a potential trade partner looking for a marquee name to sell tickets in the short term and provide roster flexibility in the long term.

While the Nuggets have given no indication they will actively shop Anthony, the constant drama in the life of their 23-year-old forward has become the source of enough frustration within team headquarters that Denver would be willing to listen if somebody made a trade offer too good to refuse for Melo. The problem? In a league where stars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James dominate, it's difficult to come out ahead when trading a singular immense talent for any combination of players and draft picks.

Denver will not stand pat. With a draft choice late in the first round, it's believed the Nuggets are eyeing North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson. The team also is known to have recently scouted young European center Marc Gasol, currently property of the Memphis Grizzlies and a prospect who might be ready to emerge from the shadow of his big brother with the Lakers.

If the Nuggets want to make a blockbuster deal capable of altering the chemistry of a squad whose success seems to be less than the sum of its parts, however, they must move Camby, Iverson or Anthony. Who would get shown the door?

Maybe the more pertinent question is: Can Warkentien, Chapman and Bearup agree on what direction to take the Nuggets?

To put it nicely, this is a management team of three strong-willed, opinionated basketball men who too often appear to be competing for the ear of Kroenke.

For example: At the trade deadline in February, the Nuggets irked NBA teams from coast to coast when the front-office staff simultaneously worked deals for Sacramento defensive wizard Ron Artest and Memphis shooter Mike Miller, only to come off as an organization whose left hand was unaware of what the right hand was doing.

As the Nuggets struggled to make the playoffs only to be rudely bounced by the Lakers in the first round, it was not unusual to see Warkentien or Chapman take separate turns consulting and consoling Kroenke in the arena seats or a hallway outside the locker room.

If the Denver front office cannot give the boss better advice or results, why should Kroenke continue to listen?

Before the Nuggets can build a championship identity, this is a basketball organization that needs to find its voice.

So Vandeweghe losses his job for trading for K-Mart and then becomes the GM of the team he got K-Mart from? That's coherent.

Also, Melo isn't worth his contract or what the Nuggets think he is.

i want no part of melo unless he willing to be a 6th man and thats the same thing as jarvis starting on a team.

i wonder where he would fit well.

JJ Redick dropped the ol' "play me or trade me" on the Magic.

Must have learned that from Darko.

He's better than any Piston too.

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nba/profiles/coaches/30010.jpg What the fuck is Carlisle winking about?

http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nba/profiles/coaches/30010.jpg What the fuck is Carlisle winking about?
Looks like Bell's palsy to me.

Bulls’ Noah arrested for possession of marijuana

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Authorities in Gainesville have charged Chicago Bulls forward and former Florida star Joakim Noah with possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol.

Gainesville police spokesman Sgt. Rick Roberts says Noah was arrested around 1:50 a.m. Sunday after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup containing an amber drink, a violation of city law. During a search at the station, officers found marijuana in his pocket.

Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge—standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge.

Noah led the Gators to consecutive national championships before being selected ninth overall in last June’s draft by the Bulls. He averaged 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 74 games as a rookie.

Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said general manager John Paxson “did express to Joakim his disappointment in his actions this weekend” and added: “Until we gather further information on this situation, we won’t be making any further comment.”

Wow, he just does seem like a drug user.

http://coedmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/noah.jpg